NAMPA, Id. - The #21 Central Washington University volleyball team executed well on all facets Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats earned their fourth straight win with a sweep over Northwest Nazarene (25-19, 25-17, 25-19).
 
NOTABLE STATS
The Wildcats blocking efforts controlled the pace of the game. Tia Andaya tallied six blocks to go along with a team-high 23 assists. Morgan Halady also recorded six blocks. Emma Daoud-Hebert had five blocks plus an excellent hitting percentage of .778 with seven kills on nine attacks.
 
Ellie Marble continues to be the hot hand on offense, leading the team with a dozen kills, adding seven digs and three blocks. Hannah Stires led the Wildcats in digs with 13, followed closely by Kate Stidham with 10.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH MARIO ANDAYA
"We handled their serves well and played good defense. We scored on a lot of our digs. Our blocking and transition game was pretty strong all match. We are happy with the work we put in this week and it paid off."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Consecutive errors on NNU opened a 3-0 lead for the Wildcats early in the first set. The Nighthawks settled in, tying it at 7-7. Northwest Nazarene used their first timeout of the set at 11-8 after a three-point CWU run, thanks to Kylie Thorne, Daoud-Hebert, and Scottie Ellsworth.
 
Later on, back-to-back Daoud-Hebert kills widened the lead to 17-10. NNU cut the deficit to three points at 21-18, but that's as close as they would get. A solo block from Daoud-Hebert won the first set for the 'Cats 25-19.
 
The Wildcats jumped to a quick 6-1 lead in the second set. The Nighthawks would start to string points together and found themselves just two points behind at 12-10. CWU would use a three-point run to force NNU to use their second timeout early at 15-10.
 
NNU would draw a little closer with a three-point run as the Wildcats still led 21-17. With Marble at the service line, the Wildcats went on a four-point streak to win the second frame 25-17, including a set-winning ace for Marble.
 
The Wildcats continued to control the pace in the third set, building an 8-2 lead. The lead expanded to 11 at 18-7 as a Daoud-Hebert kill forced an NNU timeout. Out of the timeout, the Nighthawks took five of the next six points as the Wildcats maintained a strong lead at 19-12.
 
In response, Marble would rally off a couple of kills to lead the team over the 20-point mark. Brooke Garman pushed the Wildcats to set point and finished the job herself to clinch the win for the Wildcats 25-19.
 
UP NEXT
With the win, the #21 Wildcats (16-6, 10-4 GNAC) will remain in sole possession of second place in the GNAC with two weeks remaining. The team will return home for their final two games at Nicholson Arena this year vs. Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and vs. Alaska Anchorage on Saturday for Senior Day.